Sodium aluminate (Na.sub.2 Al.sub.2 O.sub.4) is used for many and diverse applications such as in the chemical process industries, in the textile industry, and in the oil industry. It is used specifically for gelling liquid hydrocarbons which are used for fracturing oil bearing formations in secondary recovery operations in oil well production. When used as a powder or in lump form, the resulting dust is hazardous and irritating to humans. In oil field operations, such problems are magnified when large bags of dry sodium aluminate are used.
The dry sodium aluminate powder or lump may be dissolved in water to reduce the dust hazard but such problems are magnified when large bags of dry sodium aluminate are used.
The dry sodium aluminate powder or lump may be dissolved in water to reduce the dust hazard but such solutions are chemically unstable with respect to time. Ordinarily, highly concentrated solutions of sodium aluminate will cause conversion of the aluminate to water-insoluble aluminum oxide hydrates within a few hours, thereby impairing the chemical composition and applications of the precipitate-containing solutions.